Press releases

In regions with high rainfall and cold temperatures, most birds have dark plumage colours. This is what a global analysis of colour variation in birds revealed. The study of an international team of researchers with participation of the Max Planck ...

Birds have good memories, but in contrast to mammals, little is known about how they consolidate memories during sleep. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Utrecht University recorded waves of slow activity traveling through ...

The ability to perceive and recognise a reflected mirror image as self is considered a hallmark of cognition across species. Now researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, the University of Konstanz, and Osaka City ...

Germany has lost the majority of its insects over the past 30 years. Over half of all wild bee species are either endangered or have already gone extinct. This downward trend is also affecting birds: only about half the number of birds are alive ...

Little more than fifty years after the German ornithologist Wolfgang Makatsch published his book entitled “No egg is like another” (Kein Ei gleicht dem anderen), new research at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in collaboration with the Max ...

An international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, and the University of Oxford have revealed that New Caledonian crows are able to create tools by combining two or more otherwise non-functional ...

Multimedia

The animals of our planet are constantly in motion – some may fly, swim, or migrate thousands of kilometers; others move just a few hundred metres. They all have one thing in common, however: little is known about their journeys. Icarus should change this in the next years. By increasing our knowledge about animal migration, we can learn more about the state of our planet.

The choice of the perfect partner is also important for blue tits. A good teamwork is required, as up to 10 hungry chicks have to be fed simultaneously. But do they have to live together in a faithful partnership for that? And is this really the best strategy for reproductive success?